Egypt – On the 1 Feb 14 A new Egyptian militant jihadi group has issued its first statement, claiming responsibility for planting explosives and attacking security men and police stations. In a statement posted on a militant website late on the 31 Jan 14 “Ajnad Misr” or Egypt's Soldiers, said it will fight the "regime's criminal organs," which it said were being used to humiliate the people and prevent them from performing religious duties. It said it planted and detonated two explosive devices on a main highway on Cairo's outskirts on the 31 Jan 14. Interior Ministry spokesman Hani Abdel-Latif said it hit a vehicle carrying riot police and wounding an officer. Earlier the militant group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis confirmed that Ajnad Misr was responsible for the 24 Jan bomb attack that targeted Cairo's Talbiya police station, which police said caused no casualties.

On the 2 Feb 14 a car bomb targeting a bus carrying Egyptian soldiers wounded three civilians in the restive Sinai Peninsula. An explosives-laden car was detonated by remote control near government buildings in the town of Rafah, on the border with the Palestinian Gaza strip. The blast went off around 10 metres from the bus transporting soldiers who were on leave. Militants have stepped up attacks on Egyptian security forces in north Sinai since the ouster of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in Jul 13 killing scores of soldiers and policemen. The jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis (Partisans of Jerusalem) has claimed some of the deadliest attacks in Egypt recently. It is believed that the group is inspired by Al-Qaeda, but Egyptian security officials claim it is derived from the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood, to which Morsi belongs. While little is known about Anjad Misr’s size, capacity, ideology or leadership it is one of a growing number of jihadist groups to carry out attacks on security personnel.

On the 9 Feb 14 Egypt has accused the Muslim Brotherhood of creating a military wing to attack security forces, a move likely to increase pressure on the group already facing a massive crackdown. The Interior Ministry's spokesman appeared on television to announce that the military unit had been discovered, and named 12 people who he said were members. Egyptian authorities have been cracking down hard on the Brotherhood since army chief Field Marshal Abdel Fattah al-Sisi toppled Islamist President Mohamed Mursi in Jul 13. State television aired what it said was a confession by one the military wing's members. He recalled meeting a man who he said had offered to teach him and others how to use weapons.

Nigeria – Two incidents on the 31 Jan 14 followed a deadly attack on a Catholic church during the weekend 18/19 Jan 14 which killed more than 60 people and raised fresh questions about the government's strategy to end the bloodshed and the revamping of its military. It is believed that Boko Harem were responsible. In the first attack, unknown assailants in cars and on motorbikes burst into the family's house in Unguwar Kajit, a village in the mainly Christian part of Kaduna state, and opened fire a typical tactic of the terrorist group. In the second incident, seven people were killed and three others seriously injured when their bus ran over a home-made bomb near Kuthra village in the Gwoza area of Borno state. Boko Haram has also ratcheted up deadly attacks in the border area with Cameroon in recent months and Lawan Tanko, Borno the incident has blamed the terrorist group for planting the device. Earlier in Jan 14 a car bomb targeted a busy market, killing 19 in Gwoza, located about 150km from the Borno's capital Maiduguri, Boko Haram's spiritual home. Boko Haram also attacked military installations in Dec 13 forcing a city-wide shut-down and raising questions about Nigeria's counterinsurgency strategy.

Somalia – A car bomb exploded near the entrance of Mogadishu's heavily-guarded airport complex. Somali police said a car bomb was detonated close to a tea shop at the road junction outside Mogadishu's airport on the 13 Feb 14. The United Nations mission in Somalia, UNSOM, said the bomb went off near a convoy of UN vehicles shortly after midday, local time. The airport was busy when the explosion occurred and the vehicle was parked near the airport gate when it detonated. It is thought that al-Shabab, the al-Qaeda linked Islamist group was responsible for the terrorist incident and a member of the group had claimed responsibility for the attack. Several African countries have raised their alert states over the last few months since the attack on the Westgate Mall because of threats from the terrorist group. This attack will be part of an ongoing campaign by the group.

Tunisia – A Tunisian policeman and up to four Islamist militants were killed during a police raid on a house in Tunis where weapons, explosives and suicide bomb belts were found on the 4 Feb 14. A fire fight began when police surrounded a house in Raoued, a northern suburb of the capital, in an attempt to arrest a group of suspected militants hiding there. In 2013 Tunisian armed forces have cracked down on the hard-line Islamist Ansar al-Shariah faction, which Washington has listed as a terrorist organization and whose leader has declared allegiance to al Qaeda. The threat of Islamist militancy is among the new government’s main challenges. A suicide bombing at a beach resort late last year - the first such attack in a decade - underscored Tunisia’s vulnerability to jihadi violence. Tunisian militants have used the turmoil in neighboring Libya to get weapons and training. Some have travelled to Syria to fight for Islamist rebel groups in the civil war there, returned to carry out terrorist acts, a problem that the west may share.